


Deeper Into Dreams

by Riley_Silver



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Fake Marriage, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Undercover
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-17 21:47:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29107296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Riley_Silver/pseuds/Riley_Silver
Summary: When Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi is send on a long-haul undercover mission, he is gladdened to find company in Marshall Commander CC-2224, or Cody as he has come to know the clone. Posing as refugees to gain vital intelligence is paramount to the Republic's efforts to end the war and bring peace to the Galaxy, however Obi-Wan soon finds himself fighting battles on the smaller scale; the most pressing one after having been confronted with his developing feeling about Cody.fakedating!au while undercover for a mission will always end up as planned, right?
Relationships: CC-2224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi
Comments: 22
Kudos: 87





	1. Chapter 1

The minute that Obi-Wan saw _‘the parties will “crash land” on the nearby moon and make contact with the locals under the guise of refugees’_ he sighed and leaned on his elbows heavily, letting the data pad fall onto his desk. Master Yoda had called him to the temple to discuss the mission, and the meeting weighed heavily on his mind.

_“A delicate mission, this is. Visit and observe, you must, if we are to gain knowledge of our enemy’s next move”_ Yoda had said, sitting cross legged in his chair while he meditated, the dull blue glow of the starchart carving out deep lines on his face.

_“But Master, I already have a current assignment. Isn’t there another Jedi who can take this mission on? It is a long time to be spending undercover and I fear that I will be needed here”_ he protested, but to no avail. Master Yoda’s eyes opened and fixed him with a strong stare, the light of the force flickering gently in them.

_“Assigned to Young Skywalker, your current missions are. Never fear, Master Kenobi. Gather this information, you must. May the Force be with you”_

He let his head follow the datapad until it bumped against the solid wooden desk, slowing his breathing until he managed to calm his mind. The silence was broken by his intercom chirping quietly, and after a moment, a familiar presence washed the room as his churning Force energy latched onto his anchor.

“Commander, is everything alright?” Obi-Wan asked, letting his eyes stay shut for the moment as he basked in the steady glow that was his commander’s force signature.

“Yes sir. I just received this communique and wished to discuss it with you.”

Rolling his head a little so he could look up at his visitor, he took in the tense way his commander was standing, the taut lines of his face that years of spending time with the man had allowed him to notice. His eyes dropped to the datapad gripped in one hand and he smiled slightly.

“It seems, Cody, that you have also been assigned this mission?” He finally sat up, gesturing for the clone to sit in the only chair that wasn’t swamped under flimsiwork and spare robes. “It will be long, several months at least and I can understand if you wish for someone else to be assigned. Someone has to look after the 212th while I am away.”

“With all due respect sir, the fact that it is you going away for several months is the very reason I accepted. Someone has to look after you” Cody grumbled, and then finally with a little twinkle in his eye, motioned to his lightsaber. “Who else is going to keep track of that saber?”

Obi-Wan frowned, without malice, and then finally let himself smile. “I’ll be glad to have your company Cody, however I should think it a rather droll mission, sitting around listening to rumours and gossip.” He picked up the datapad again and scrolled through the brief, memorising names and details.

“In all honesty sir,” Cody began, setting the datapad down on the desk with a smile, “I think I’d rather tired of all our assault missions for the meantime.”

Obi-Wan smiled in sympathy, but his heart was warm. It gladdened him to know that his Commander was comfortable enough to speak his mind, that he was no simple ‘yes-man’, even if it did take several months of encouragement. He made the effort to learn every single name and armour insignia of his men, to treat them as individual people, to encourage individualism where he was sure the Kaminoans would severely disapprove. He let the lilting language of Mando’a linger in the barracks, admittedly not letting on to his troops that he was also fluent, but the side conversations proved a useful insight into his troopers’ wellbeing. It also allowed him privy to the gossip that can only come from among brothers, which more often than not were hilarious, crude stories about mishaps from other regiments.

“The 212th will be temporarily re-assigned under General Skywalker and Commander Tano with the rest of the 501st.” Cody read, tapping his fingers on the helmet. “Waxer will be happy to travel with Hardcase again, they were close during training” he finished with a smile.

“I suppose we should inform our troops Commander, as we are leaving in the early hours of tomorrow. We cannot tell them where we’re going or what we are doing.” Obi-Wan stood up and held a handout to Cody, who sighed heavily and took it, hauling himself up to stand by the general’s shoulder.

As they made the journey from his office to the barracks, Obi-Wan leant into the steady force signature that Cody seemed to exude as he walked quietly a few paces behind to his right side. The gentle familial feeling had him reflecting on just how much time he had spent with Cody over the few years together. What started as regimented, strict professionalism gave way to genuine friendship and mutual respect as they increasingly found themselves proving their worth to each other. Obi-Wan watched Cody interact with his brothers, often under the guise of ‘meditation’, watching how he checks in with every man, offering a comforting word or a calming touch.

Even they had their private moments; early mornings with cold hands wrapped around warm cups of caf, sleep slowly fleeing as they welcomed the day together. Sleepless nights staring at holomaps, developing strategy after strategy to minimise their casualties until the miniature gunships blurred with exhaustion, quiet afternoons filled with the rustling sounds of flimsi and the soft chiming of datapads as they worked through the mountains of paperwork required to win a war.

Obi-Wan relished in their alone time both as moments of peace and quiet and an opportunity for the General and the Marshall Commander to get to know each other.

However he was brought out of his musing by their arrival to the main barracks, waving down the troopers who stood to acknowledge his presence. “At ease gents. Cody, can you send out an alert for all troops who are available to report here please?” Cody nodded and after fiddling with a datapad, Obi-Wan could hear the chiming of commlinks ripple around the room and the men packed away their gear to pay attention to their commander.

Obi-Wan watched as Cookie and Wooley walked in with the mess hall trays and sat on the floor to continue eating, as Boil, Waxer, and Cale ran in still dressed in their loose training gear, and as Reed carried in a sleeping Trapper before pouring ice cold water over his face much to the merriment of the rest of the troops.

“This will be enough Cody.” Obi-Wan paused for a moment, looking over the faces of the men he had come to love and protect as fiercely as his own blood. This mission is for them.

“The 212th is temporarily being reassigned to General Skywalker and Commander Tano. They will arrive tomorrow to pilot the _Negotiator_ to port for your transfer.”

There were various cries of dissent, curiosity, and confusion as Cody stepped forward and barked an order. “Settle down! Need I remind you that the General said ‘temporary re-assignment’. You boys shall be back on the _Negotiator_ before too long.”

They settled down, muttering quietly amongst each other until Gregor, the captain ever so perceptive, raised his voice. “You boys, Cody? What do you mean?” he asked, swapping a look with Waxer.

“General Kenobi and I have been _temporarily_ re-assigned elsewhere. Don’t worry Gregor” Cody said with a laugh, sweeping his gaze over Boil and Longshot with a pointed look. “I won’t leave you playing mother hen to this lot for long. Just maintain the mandatory pat-down of Waxer from every on-shore leave, lest you want to deal with a couple of stowaways.”

That brought chuckles from most of the men present, all turning on Waxer to give him playful shoves as Gregor only nodded solemnly. Obi-Wan stepped up again and laid a hand on the Captain’s shoulder.

“You have a few days to collect everything you wish to take with you aboard the _Resolute._ The _Negotiator_ will be reassigned until such as time as we can all serve together again. Cody,” he turned away and walked back towards the door but paused briefly so only so his commander could hear. “Come to my quarters at 0138. Be with your brothers for now, it may be a while before we see them again.”

\---

A soft knock interrupted his meditation.

Cody stepped through the door, and Obi-Wan caught his breath. It’s very rare that he sees Cody in just the standard issue under-suit, and it’s even rarer still to see him out of uniform completely. Dressed in a simple cream tunic belted over brown pants which in turn were tucked into dark leather boots, he stood at parade rest just inside the door.

“How are the clothes Cody? Do they fit?”

Cody nodded and Obi-wan ducked his head, fighting the blush that climbed up his neck. Oh yes, the clothes fit very well. “Come sit with me for a moment?” He heard the chair scape and he reached out, floating two warm cups of caf and tea respectively over, smiling when he heard Cody’s appreciative sigh. Steepling his fingers, he let the steam waft the aroma up over his face as he studied Cody. He let his mind reach out and brush against Cody’s force glow and breathed as the emotions of his friend washed over.

“Nervous, Cody?”

“No sir.”

Obi-Wan smiled. “The least you can do for me Cody is use my name. Please.” His voice grew softer as he realised what the coming months would bring. “I may not get to hear it for some time.”

“As you wish, Obi-Wan.” Cody’s small smile seemed to glow with the light of Tatooine’s twin suns, and Obi-Wan suddenly wished that he could record his name coming from Cody’s mouth. “It’s not that I am nervous for the mission per say, it’s the fact that we don’t know how long this operation will be, we will have very little contact with any friendlies.”

Obi-Wan finally took a sip of his tea, letting the warmth settle on his tongue for a second before swallowing, squaring his shoulders to face Cody with a sigh.

“I know, it troubles me too. However, I believe that this will be important. I’m just glad I will have you for company.” He reached out a hand and squeezed Cody’s forearm. Grabbing a non-descript canvas bag, he began filling it with his most common clothes, his plainest robes, and a couple of his personal trinkets. The methodical reptation of folding his robes gave him something to do with his hands and he let Cody watch him prepare for another life. He put the bag beside the one Cody left by the door and turned back to his bed, slowly unwinding the sash and set it on the bed, shortly followed his dark brown outer robe.

Cody’s eyes burned into his back – he could feel the weight of them as the significance of what Obi-Wan is doing hits his heart heavily. Despite this being for a mission, it truly felt like he was turning his back on the Jedi Order, something he has only seriously considered once in his life. The brown outer robe was smoothed out and his cream tunic and Jedi-issued obi, the inner robe following it so that Obi-Wan was left in his pants, boots, and sleeveless undershirt and he stepped back. He could feel the distress that Cody tried to keep quelled behind him and he let himself lean into the hand that made its way to his shoulder. His eyes darted to the small mirror and he took the way that they looked; two simple refugees fleeing the destruction of the galactic war.

“Let’s go.” He turned to face his commander, bringing his hand up to cover Cody’s so it didn’t move from his shoulder. Cody smiled, his eyes sparking with worry as his force signature pulsed with that worry until Obi-Wan let his own force energy smooth out the jagged edges. “We have a job to do.”


	2. II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have placed the Mando'a translations in the chapter notes. Please enjoy

Cody schooled his face into one of easy nonchalance as his General conveyed the news to their battalion of their reassignment, noting the way excitement began to creep over Waxer’s face as the initial shock wore off. Captain Gregor was a smart, perceptive man, and Cody knew that he would be able to keep the troops in line alongside Rex, but that man did have a panache for asking the right sort of difficult questions. He wanted to tell them so badly that he and the General were going away for several months, _kriff_ , even he didn’t know most of the details of this mission.

The comforting hand from his General felt in stark contrast to the tense words whispered by his ear. Once the General has left the barracks he let himself be pulled into a card game, this time betting little packets of spices they had picked up on their last shore run, and he basked in the contended mood of his men. He helped Wooley repaint his pauldrons in their signature ‘212th gold’, chatted with Cookie about new recipes to try in the mess hall, with Boil and Waxer about the new standard issue high-powered rifle that has entered the final round of testing, just spending his last day with his brothers. That was until Waxer pulled him aside late into the evening when most of the troops had nodded off.

“ _Tion’jor vaabir ni as’gaanir te gar nari sibu’an ret’?”_

Cody shook his head and clapped a hand onto his friend’s shoulder. “Calm down Waxer. I’m not going anywhere.” The white lie stung a bit, but it was calmed by the relief in his friend’s eyes. “Get some sleep. The 501st will be here tomorrow and I cannot have my men lounging around because they have exhausted themselves.”

Waxer hauled himself into his bunk, so Cody headed towards the door, letting himself have one last sweeping look over his brothers, willing their safety to the universe, and switched the lights off, walking the hallway to his own quarters.

Sparsely furnished with a bed, a desk, two chairs, and a little kitchenette, he was afforded a private space due to his rank of Marshall Commander but he hardly used it. He checked the datapad that lay on the bedside table and read the time, noting that he had about half an hour until he was due to meet his General so he took the time to pack. Methodically releasing the clasps that held the plastoid armour together, he couldn’t help but let his mind drift to the mission ahead. _Kriff,_ he didn’t know what system they were heading to but here he was, turning his back on his brothers to go racing across the galaxy with his General.

That uncomfortable thought he refused to acknowledge started to rear its head until he managed to force it back into its box, sealing those problems behind the Code he was sworn to. Piling the armour onto the bed, he set his bucket down next to it and rubbed absentmindedly at a smudge near the visor. The non-descript bag sat on the desk just inside his peripheral vision and he knew it was the clothes from his General for their departure but something made his heart ache. Cody picked up the small glass spiral that hung in the window – the blue piece throwing irregular shafts of light every time it moved. That had been a present from Boil who had found it in a market one day.

Unzipping the black bodysuit, he let it fall to the floor as he felt the rough tunic in his hands as he held it up to the light. It was one of Kenobi’s tunics, he realised as his heart skipped a beat, the smell of the special kind of soap the Jedi used wafting gently over his senses. The clothes were a little tight, but it was fine, and a worrying thought passed in the back of his mind that if these looked loose on his General then he must be thinner than Cody thought, which is a worry. He began to repack the bag with the small amount of non-uniform clothing he owned, and at the last minute, he took the blue glass pendant and tucked it between a pair of socks.

\---

He watched curiously as his Gen… Obi-Wan began the almost ritualistic motions of removing his robes, no doubt going through the same thought patters that he himself went through after doffing his armour. The dark brown outer cloak, the tunic, the inner robe, until his general was standing there in an undershirt not too dissimilar to his own. The General was thin, thinner than Cody had remembered but then again he hardly saw the Jedi undressed like this. The thought of watching his CO undress had a light flush creeping up the back of his neck and he was grateful when Kenobi turned to him with a sombre expression.

“Let’s go.”

Grabbing their bags and after making sure no one was walking in the dimmed corridor; the pair made their way quickly and quietly towards the hanger while avoiding the troops patrolling on the night shift. In the far corner was their transport; a small, non-descript vessel that his General had picked up a couple of month ago while fleeing a planet. They made their way over quietly, skirting Cale who sat at the watch station going over launch logs, until they were under the ship and used the manual emergency hatch to crawl through the belly until they were sitting on the floor of the cockpit in the little bit of dim light that managed to filter through.

Cody replaced the hatch as quietly as he could while Kenobi put their bags on the small bunk provided before coming to join him on the floor. “What’s next?” he breathed, feeling oddly naked without his armour.

“Now we wait. When the _Resolute_ docks and makes connection, we will slip away during all the fuss.” His General has a small frown on his face, his fingers twisting together in a way that betrayed his discomfort. Cody reached out and grabbed Obi-Wan’s hands in his own, letting his warmth bleed into his general as he offered a small smile.

“General Skywalker doesn’t know, does he?”

Kenobi laughed softly. “No. He is terrible at secrets, but I have left him a small note in my quarters.” Taking a breath to set his shoulders and looked towards Cody. “Let’s go over the full mission brief yes?”

They sat scrolling through the mission file together, occasionally pointing out titbits of information as they came across it.

“Cholganna?”

“A planet in the Outer Rim at the end of the Perlmian Trade Route.” Kenobi said softly, eyes fixed on the rotating holo-projection of the planet. “Wild forest mostly, although a small refugee camp has made its home in one of the only places the nexu seem to avoid.”

Cody watched as Kenobi’s eyes hardened at the sight of the nexu, remembering how his general faced such creature on Geonosis just before the first major battle started. That, coincidentally was just before Cody as met the general for the first time – serving as a captain then before rising to the rank of Marshall Commander of the 7th Sky Corps and the 212th Battalion.

“What is it we are actually doing, sir?”

“We are watching and listening, Cody. The Council has received rumours that the Separatists are trying to establish a base on the planet despite the wishes of the people to remain neutral. The Senate cannot send in troops as it is a political matter, however they cannot send diplomats until there is sufficient proof that their alignment is threatening to sway. I would also assume Duchess Satine and the rest of the Council of Neutral Systems would love to have a say in it.”

Cody sat for a moment, mulling the words and the mission over before one curious thought sprang to mind. “What is our cover?”

Kenobi smiled. “Plenty of time to work that out later. For now, get some sleep my dear. I’ll wake you when it is time to depart.”

He nodded and turned away quickly, cursing the fact that he didn’t have his helmet to hide the rising blush that crept up every time his General referred to him sweetly. It was a peculiar habit, one that he noticed only happened when Kenobi was addressing those, he considered particularly close. General Skywalker, Commander Tano, and Senator Amidala were often at the receiving end of such pet names, and it was to Cody’s mixed delight and horror that he found the pet name increasingly used in reference to himself. To his General’s credit though, he only ever said it during their private moments – often when he was sleep-addled, and it appeared to slip through without him thinking.

However, he curled up in the small bunk and watched Kenobi through half-closed eyes as the Jedi crossed his legs and smoothed out his breathing, hands resting softly on his knees, and let the protective feeling wash over his heart.

\--

A hand shaking his shoulder softly had his him automatically going for the pistol he kept under the pillow until he realised that a) he was not in his room, b) there was no pistol, and c) the had belonged to Kenobi who had a fond smile on his face and held out a thermos of caf in his other hand.

“It’s not the hottest caf in the world, but I thought it would be better than nothing.” His heart bloomed at the thoughtfulness of his General and he accepted the caf, not caring that it was more lukewarm at this point.

“Is it time to go?” He asked, then paused as he realised Kenobi was holding a spare commlink.

“Alright Anakin. I’ll alert everyone that you are inbound.”

“ _Yes Master. Coming out of hyperspace now. See you soon_ ”

Cody could see the pain in Kenobi’s eyes at that and brushed up beside him in an offer of support. He took his own data pad and sent the message to the troops to prepare for the arrival of General Skywalker, noting with curiosity that the ship’s holo-projector was showing security cam footage of the docking bay and surprisingly – both their quarters. He gave Kenobi a side glance.

  
“Have those cameras always been there?” he asked, feeling somewhat strange at the thought of someone potentially watching him when he thought he was in a private space.

“No, my dear. I placed them in our quarters just before we left.” His General seemed to watch the feed of the docking bay with sadness. “For assurance. Come on, we need to prep the flight sequence.”

They took their respective seats and began the sequence, punching in coordinates and checking fluid levels. As the engine warmed up Cody could hear faint conversation coming from the footage of the docking bay.

“ _Captain, where is Master Kenobi?”_ He heard Anakin say, slightly distorted through the hologram.

“ _Not sure General. Both General Kenobi and Commander Cody have yet to report in, though they have sent out communiques about your arrival.”_

“ _I’ll go check on Cody sir. He may be fetching General Kenobi and are just late”_ Rex stepped forward and snapped a lazy salute to his General before he walked down the hallways towards his brother’s room.

_Kriff._

Cody felt his heart clench painfully as he watched Rex punch in the override code for his room, stepping in and stopping with confusion as the pile of plastoid armour on the bed. He watched Rex set his helmet down on the desk and pick up his brothers, thumb tracing the gold flecks around the respirator, searching the room for clues.

As they initiated the flight sequence, he could hear the faint report coming from the Admiral.

_“A small ship has launched from the maintenance hangar sir, two life forms on board”_

Rex, hearing the news, bolted from the room and soon re-joined General Skywalker in the docking bay just as Anakin started ordering for his jet to be prepared. It was that moment when Cody has his idea, reaching over for the spare commlink and punched in Rex’s personal channel number.

“Rex, it’s me” he said, placating Kenobi with a gentle hand.

_“Cody? What in blazes is going on?”_

“Rex, tell General Skywalker to stand down. Don’t follow that ship.”

He could see General Skywalker start at the mention of his name and stare at Rex’s cuff communicator. He could see Waxer dropping his head into a hand, Gregor’s posture stiffening, and Boil exchanging a look with Cale.

“ _Ret'urcye mhi, ner vod.”_ He said, letting emotions clog his throat and twist his words.

_“Ne shab’rud’ni Kote.”_ Rex spat, causing Cody to chuckle sadly.

“ _Ni ceta Rex._ ” Rex visibly recoiled at the grovelling apology laced with so much emotion, and with that Cody clicked the commlink off, ducking his head as tears threaten to spill over. A warm hand pressed onto his shoulder as Kenobi finished the preparations for their jump to hyperspace.

“Cody” Kenobi simply said as he engaged the jump drive and sent them barrelling forward away from the _Negotiator_ and the _Resolute_. Away from his brothers. “Cody come here.” He let his general pull him out of the co-pilot’s seat and into a warm hug, burying his head into the general’s shoulder and allowing the strong arms to wrap around him tightly. “Have faith that we will return, dear one. This is not a true goodbye.” He could hear the tightness in Kenobi’s chest – no doubt having his own troubling emotions of leaving behind his old apprentice – and Cody wound his arms so they sat loosely around his hips and let himself relax into the embrace.

“Huh, Kote..” his general mused from above him. “Glory.” The translation made Cody pull back a little to look at his General with a cautious look. “You wear the name well” was all Kenobi said, but with a further glare and raised eyebrow he had the decency to look a bit sheepish. “I know Mando’a, Cody, yes.”

His mind instantly raced back to all the time his brothers had spoken Mando’a freely, cringing at the time Boil was egged on to read a passage from a sultry ‘forbidden-romance’ novel about a Jedi and his Commander in the middle of the mess hall one breakfast as the result of losing a bet. He remembered the way he reprimanded Boil, and the amused-yet-confused look on Kenobi’s face he had assumed was as a result of not understanding the Mandalorian language.

He could feel Kenobi laughing, arms tightening slightly as he smiled at Cody with the force of a million suns. “If you are thinking about the time Boil had his impromptu poetry reading I can assure you, I understood every word.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My Mando’a is still rusty so please forgive any mistranslations 
> 
> Kriff: Shit
> 
> Tion’jor vaabir ni as’gaanir te gar nari sibu’an ret’: Why do I get the feeling you are saying goodbye?
> 
> Ret'urcye mhi, ner vod.: Goodbye, my brother (lit. Maybe we’ll meet again, my brother)
> 
> Ne shab’rud’ni Kote: Don’t mess with me Cody (a very strong warning – usually is followed by violence)
> 
> Ni ceta Red: I’m sorry Rex (lit. ‘I kneel’ – a grovelling apology that is rarely used)


	3. III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, translations are placed at the end.

If it all went to plan, their first hyperspace jump would take them to the Mid-Rim and they would land on Lantillies to restock and refuel. They had taken turns to sleep during the hyperspace travel considering the late night they both pulled, and Obi-Wan woke to Cody shaking him gently.

“Come on General, we should be exiting hyperspace soon.” Cody urged, making his way to the co-pilot’s seat and adjusted the comms headset again. Obi-Wan joined him shortly after with a yawn and a stretch, letting his joints pop satisfyingly and sat in the pilot’s chair. Taking the auto pilot off, he settled into the chair and called out to Cody, “Exiting hyperspace in 3, 2, 1…”

The pseudomotion washed off and instantly their ship was thrown sideways, and laser fire burst all around them.

“Cody, get those shields up and hang on!” he called as pulled the ship into evasive manoeuvring, descending sharply and swerving past a battleship. “What is our weapon situation?”

“No weapons sir. Diverting all auxiliary power to shields.”

Obi-Wan grunted and focussed on keeping the ship steady during their dive, weaving in and out of battle craft and laser fire that rocked the ship. “Looks like pirates sir. Pirates and local law enforcement.” Suddenly the craft jolted heavily, and the dashboard lit up in a dizzying array of colours, urgent beeping filling the cabin. “That doesn’t sound good” Cody grumbled, leaning over and switching on the extra stabilisers, receiving a spray of sparks across the dashboard for his efforts.

“Three of four stabilizers have been shot out, our fuel line has been ruptured and we’re down to half an engine, so yes I would say that’s not good” Obi-Wan snapped and despite it all, that got a chuckle out of his commander. Cody always seemed to find his snappy sarcasm amusing, and the sound seemed so out of place in their current situation.

“Over there sir, about three klicks west of the city wall. We can set down there away from everyone in case the ship doesn’t make it.”

Cody. His ever-brilliant, calm-headed Cody.

“You are wonderful. Initiating emergency landing procedures and be prepared to eject if necessary.” Obi-Wan pulled his focus to the spot where he aimed to land, ignoring the smoke trailing behind them, ignoring the sparks ricocheting out of their dashboard, and slowed his breathing. Latching onto the steady signature of his commander he forced himself to relax and guide the ship down, riding each hit and jolt as if it was a gentle wave on a slow river.

“500… 400… 200… 100…” he could hear Cody reading out somewhere to his right. “80… 50… 30.. Bracing!”

With a massive crash the ship thundered into the dirt and shook beyond belief, an awful scraping sound coming from beneath his feet as their slide came to a stop with a final groan of tired metal. He looked over to Cody who flashed him a brilliant smile. “I thought we weren’t supposed to be crash-landing until we reached Cholganna?” Obi-Wan had to laugh at that, rolling his shoulder as the tiredness holding the ship steady washed over him. Cody grinned even brighter and held his hand out, guiding the two of them through the smoke that began to fill the cabin, past the bunks and out the ramp.

The air was bright and cool, and if one could ignore the space battle going on above their heads, Lantillies was quite pretty – if you thought a planet whose major export was starships was pretty. What was less pretty was the state of their transport. “I don’t think this will be going anywhere anytime soon.” Obi-Wan sighed, following the trail of debris left buy their rather heavy landing. Focussing his eyes, he noticed the blurred smudges of a speeder making their way towards the wreck and by the noise Cody made, he reasoned that his companion had also spotted them. “Quick, throw the hooded robe on and wrap this around your face.” He gave Cody a thin piece of fine-weave cloth and showed him how to wrap it around his lower face, leaving only his eyes exposed when their hoods were pulled up. “You do the talking. I can’t speak Basic.” Giving Cody a wink, he turned to pick up their bags as the speeder slowed and several people jumped off with what looked like extinguishing gear.

“Rough landing?” the driver called, locking the speeder in place and leaning over the bulwark to study them.

“Just a bit” Cody replied in Basic, waving a hand to the commotion above them. “Got caught in the middle of all that.” The driver scoffed.

“Bloody pirates. I hope the Republic sees them off well and good this time. Anyway,” she swung a leg over and slid down the side of the vehicle to stand, hand outstretched. “The name’s Viret.” Cody shook Viret’s hand but stayed silent, causing the woman to chuckle again. “Alright, fair. You don’t wanna share names – I get that. At least tell me where you’re going and maybe I can point you in the right direction.”

Obi-Wan stepped up at this point, grabbing Cody’s elbow to get his attention. “ _Rehorhaa’ir kaysh mhi copaanir uliinir adol Perlmian Trade_ ” he said in soft Mando’a, catching the way Viret’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Cody relayed the message and Viret grinned.

“Certainly. Although that kind of information comes with a price” she laughed, rubbing her fingers together in the universal sign of currency, and Cody smiled.

“You can have our ship for scrap. Just let us take our possessions and we shall leave it to you.”

Viret threw her arms wide in celebration. “Then, my lovely new friends, collect your belongings and I shall take you to where you need to go!” Cody turned and squeezed Obi-Wan’s hand, ducking back into the now extinguished cabin to retrieve a few loose items before joining him in the speeder. Viret barked an order to her workers and turned the speeder around, eating up the klicks in no time until they were moving through the city of Lantillies itself.

Industrial, busy, and mechanical. 3 words to describe the city that manufactured a lot of the starships that stalked the galaxy. Huge open warehouses showed cruisers in several states of manufacturing, smaller hangers holding testing equipment before the goods are shipped off, and sprawling buildings dedicated to research and development of better transport options. They passed by all of that and made their way into the more residential portion of the city until Viret brought the speeder to a gentle stop.

“Follow me boys, I want to introduce you to someone.” She leaped from the speeder and grabbed her kit, walking backwards until she was sure the pair were following, and lead them into a huge transport hub. Obi-Wan could feel the curiosity spike in his companion as they walked over to a small bar set in one of the walls, grabbing Cody’s arm when that feeling of curiosity flared with fear.

He could see the source of the fear soon too as Viret made a beeline for a clone trooper sitting in a booth with 4 other humans. The clone trooper was out of uniform as well, one arm protectively around the twi’lek woman and the other playing with a small child in his lap, and his eyes swept over the two of them with suspicion – narrowing particularly as he found Cody.

“Canlan, I brought you some friends.” Viret smiled, high fiving one of the other small children who played at the table. “This man and his _inrull renek_ crashed just outside the wall. Be nice.” With that she walked out with a wave, leaving Obi-Wan standing somewhat protectively in-front of Cody.

 _“Tion gar gai?”_ he asked, one hand still holding Cody’s forearm behind him as the trooper regarded him with surprised eyes.

 _"Gar jorhaa’ir mando’a?”_ came the surprised reply, the tenseness in the trooper’s shoulders dropping and he motioned towards the empty bench in their booth. “ _Sherber”_

He and Cody warily took seats and Obi-Wan regarded the trooper. He had a beard and long hair tied up with a leather band, several scars marring his face but there was no mistake of the clone genes underneath it all. Sitting back, he lent into Cody’s shoulder slightly and let his commander take control of the conversation.

“We were making out way through when we got caught in the skirmish. Unfortunately we were hit and our transport lost.” Cody continued in Basic, smiling slightly as oldest child scootched over and began playing with the end of the robe he still wore. “Viret said you might be able to help us on our way.”

Canlan nodded a couple of times, taking a sip of the beverage he had and motioned to the jug. “Help yourself. You’re a trooper.”

Cody met his gaze levelly. “So are you.”

“Was.” Canlan said emphatically, grip tightening quickly around his wife until Cody nodded with understanding.

“How’d you get here?”

The ex-trooper sighed, playing with the edge of the cup for a moment. “I was abandoned by the General I was serving. We were hopelessly pinned down on Boz Pity when our General ordered a retreat. Our unit ran into a trap where I was the only survivor. I called for extraction, but I was left to die. Krell always treated us like we were expendable, so why continue to serve someone who hated every part of my being.”

Obi-Wan’s heart lurched. Master Krell’s allegiance to the dark side had been discovered soon after that battle Canlan referenced, and after his execution he was stripped of his Jedi title and cremated without ceremony. Cody however, had poured him a glass of the cold beverage while he was away in his thoughts. Muttering a _vor entye_ , he sipped cautiously and was delighted to find it a chilled tea brew, nodding his thanks towards Canlan and the woman.

“Anyway..” he realised Canlan was continuing, “after I realised I was abanadoned I made my way to the nearest city and hopped my way over here to Lantillies. Met Tann and made a home here.” The twi’lek woman smiled at the both of them.

“What about your story?” she asked, one hand expertly taking the knife out of her youngest’s hands without breaking eye contact. “How did you and your husband break away?”

Obi-Wan baulked, and he could feel Cody stiffen beside him. Husband? Where on Dagoba did she get that idea from? He realised Cody was stammering an answer out, but his own head was reeling. What was the word Viret used? _Inrull renek._ Wracking his brain through the various languages he knew; he cursed the fact that he knew barely any Durese but he knew that _irull_ meant heart and nothing more.

“I was stationed on Mandalore protecting a high-profile senator and her jedi companion. It was a long post, diplomatic discussions and all, and during that time I met him” Cody nudged Obi-Wan and shook him out of his thoughts for the second time during the conversation.

“Ah, Ben” he said in flawed Basic, letting a thick Mandalore accent come through and he gestured to himself. He drank from his glass again and let his free hand wind around Cody’s upper arm, leaning into it as he played peek-a-boo with the young child on the table.

“Ben and I ended up fleeing together. It was not that I wanted to abandon my brothers” Cody said quietly, looking at his hands sheepishly, “it was that I wanted my freedom. My freedom to choose a life away from the front lines of a war and allow myself what the code would never give. A family.” He said the last part with a smile, brushing a hand over the lekku of the oldest child who now snuggled into his side.

“Where are you headed?”

Cody gave Obi-Wan a look, asking the silent question. ‘ _Do we trust Canlan?_ ’. He seemed like a decent man left behind to make hard choices by a man who should have never been made General. He gave a small nod back and let the second youngest crawl her way into his lap.

“Cholganna. We were hoping to start over.”

Canlan smiled, his first true smile since they met, and raised a glass. “You’re in luck friend. We just secured a transport to Cholganna ourselves. I would be glad to have a friend in our new life, though I never did catch your name.”

Obi-Wan lent forward, interrupting him with an air of seeming frustration at the lack of introduction.

“Ben” he pointed to himself, “Peshk” he pointed to Cody, “Canlan” he pointed to the ex-trooper, then gestured kindly towards the twi’lek woman and their children. The twi’lek woman laughed.

“I am Tann, and this is Tal, our oldest” she said, gesturing to the boy curled into Cody’s side. “Nima, our second” this time it was the girl sitting calmly by her father. “Una is the one in your lap Ben, and then this is Jela.” Tann ran a mothering hand over Jela’s little lekku with a smile.

Canlan drained the rest of his cup and set it down on the table with a resounding thud. “My friends, our transport will be leaving shortly, and we need to get you on the manifest.” Canlan picked up Jela in one arm and Nima launched herself so she could cling onto her father’s back. Obi-Wan looked to the little Una in his lap, who turned on her cute eyes to full force until he had to chuckle and pick her up, cradling her carefully as he held a hand out to Cody.

  
“ _Ke-duum cyar’ika_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations: 
> 
> Rehorhaa’ir kaysh mhi copaanir uliinir adol Perlmian Trade Route: Tell her we want transport through the Perlmian Trade Route 
> 
> (Durese) Inrull renek: husband (lit. heart ruler / king)
> 
> Tion gar gai?: Who are you?
> 
> Gar jorhaa’ir mando’a?: You speak Mandalorian? 
> 
> Sherber: Sit
> 
> Ke-duum cyar’ika: Iet’s go my dear

**Author's Note:**

> Hey folks! 
> 
> My first time writing anything Codywan related - all credit goes to Treetart for introducing me to the ship via tiktok and their fic's being my first foray into the new ship that has taken over my life


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